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Choosing to live at home whilst you’re at university (Toby)

Living at home whilst you’re at university isn’t as daunting as it may seem. Actually, I don’t know if anyone sees it as daunting? I don’t know what the general opinion on whether to live at home or university is. Living in student accommodation isn’t for everyone. Some people opt to live at home due to financial constraints, for some people the prospect of moving into student accommodation as well as starting university is too much and some people may just want to enjoy living with their parents for that little bit longer. No matter, what your reasons for choosing to live at home whilst at uni, I would HIGHLY recommend it.

Commuting from home was the greatest decision I have ever made. First of all, I LOVE reading. The picture provides evidence of this. It also provides evidence that I love teddy bears and mugs. Stop judging me. Anyway, I don’t mind commuting in via train since all I do is read. In fact, I kind of love it (most of the time, peak times are grim though).

Commuting is kind of like meditation for me. In the morning, it allows me to ease into the beginning of the day and on the way home, it allows me to de-stress after all the “work” I do.

Secondly, living at home makes the money situation a lot less stressful. Even if I accumulate the rent I pay my Mum, my train fares and my daily Starbucks’ (which I have decided, are an expense I CANNOT sacrifice) I still pay less per week than most peoples’ rent.

Now, my next benefit of living at home depends on whether you can cook. Personally, I cannot cook at all. I’ve never tried, I’m too lazy and I just don’t care enough. Therefore, if I lived in halls I’d be living off microwave meals, snacks and coffee as a meal replacement. Not only that, but having to plan, order and cook my meals sounds excruciating. I’d end up joining all the other students in saying “I have no food in, let’s have a take away”. This is why, living at home is better for me because it’s the only way I’d get home cooked meals and sufficient nutrition.

It’s not all positive though, there are many times my friends at university all meet up and I can’t because I don’t live close by. However, I have pugs. So, I win. Look at them trying to kill each other, adorable.

I would say I also have the benefit of not living with people I don’t like, which is true, however my Mum’s wife can be one dirty heathen. Who just leaves wet towels on the floor? Do you enjoy bacteria Donna? Who just leaves used tea bags on the side? Is the bin too far away? I don’t understand!!! Maybe I’m being a bit obsessive but these things annoy me like when a fly is just circling you. There’s a reason they invented swatters.

Another factor to take into account when deciding whether to move out or not is figure out how independent you are. I am a mummie’s boy. Therefore, I am not very independent. My Mum’s wife and my friends hate how my Mum has coddled me and they have a fair point I am quite useless. I only started washing dishes when I was 19 and that’s only because Donna enforced it lol.

However, if you prefer being able to do and control everything yourself then I’d recommend moving out, but for me I like not having to worry about food or clean clothes. There’s only so much I can handle and university takes the cake.

So, I’d like to end this blog with a shout out to my Mum for being my rock, my world and my home.